Building unit



Patented Aug. 3, 1943 eummiwe hum fl Janie. .1mm" Detroit mcm ag igh to Lib I The: presehtirmentimn relateslbnoadly to structural buiidingz units. iands,more particularly to composite. building: blocks for: use: in; the oonstruction: of fiXtBIiOIW3fl1SLI V I l "The composite: building: block herein provided;

comprises, at. body portion; on member formed" fromva: cementitious'f material such; .aS-concrete, Hayciite, or; the Hk8,i3II-Id1 an ornamentatfeoin'g I thereto formed of opaque structural glassy. F'IThe ornamental: faoingiis secured bathe. badly portion of: the block Icy-an interposeclflayer. ofadhesive;

material such as 'asplialtic mastiei-Ieement: and. also by mechanical fastening meansrin; the tormi 0i metal: hQldHI'S; arranged; at. the edges of block: and engaging bloththe: ornamental? facing and the body portion-.. Int constnucting a; Weill; thel'blocks are lairi up in, counsesrim substantially: the same manner as" cut. storm. granite, on terra cotta; Such: a composite: building Mock: i'ssnow:

being. manufacturedi and: sold commencially. by the: company to: which: this application is. ;as-; signed under the tradeznzmie"Glasthnef-" and; therefore throughoutxthe appliomtioni the :woi cl Glastone will he understoogia to: designates cornposite buildingblockofithistcharramten; J

- When formingtheexterimrwalls ofbuildings of Giastoneblocks, the blocks of: the loweurow or vcourse may-either be 5813 11113. levei of'thea sidewalk-:7 or below the i sidewalk line as: peeiienneth Howeyer; when: the: blocks are set: below thesiilewalk line, precautions must-the taken'so thatiihei I concrete forming the sidewalk notpouredi (iii-Q neatly egainst. the faceof: thezGlestona. Y

7 Although euprefetrefi: method: of: i 'stelllationiof. Glastone blocks; iswrecommemied; by-ithe=*a-s signee company;, it has beam that in some instances the concrete sidewalk inf suchxa way that upon exgansioiizthereoijhei glasszfacing-s of the locks. alrebrokem; The cracks thns; caused-in the glass facing: are sometimes comment to the lower portion of theibiock hut,.:iiiother cases, they may extend. verticeliyla; substantial;

distance if not throughoutstim entiseheight; of the block, resulting in erlunsightiyhpzgsfiranee: Inasmuch as the Glastomerbloicks; usedareercli-a narily quite large emu since'onlw' a fewinches thereof project below the sicieWalkline,

by encl thereby-- detract from the appeazrahjoe of. the-installation? Itis; the aimof th inventionto? provideem seenthatany cracks caused. in the. glassfacing: mey extengi upward-1y above; the pavement a. suiii-- eiezit distance to beaqui-te noticeable. topassersimproved Glastonetype oi'blook'whiehisiperti-emanydapted for use loathe cohstrilctionbithe bottomi rows:

, orw'courses exterior,-i reglisei buildings: and; especially where the blocks are to.

beset-below!the-:sidewzlkiline;o Aecordinggto the invention; the1orhamenta11'g1ass facing "oi the:

biockjsaofria novel construetiongand:arrangement:

so; thatzeveni though the v facingfis broken by; ex.- pansiion 'of: the sidewalk; the vertical or upwardtresrelrof theyresulting,crack}or cracks formed;

t-hereinl. 'willz be definitely limited: and confinedr t'o: mrelativelmsmali area: atilthe "bottom, of-gthe block; is;accomplished;hyvproviding along;

the bottom; marginali pontiorisof the block; a zsepa 1 rate relatively; narrow strlp; of glass-which projectsonly a reletively-short distance ahoveathe; sidewalls levelzz; In this. my; it thegiass facing i shoui'd::be broken; expansion ofithe sidewalk stmc'bion composite blocks provided; by the presentinventiongi c *Eigi. 2115' a verticet-section suhs tantieillyonline2+2ot1FiggI andiw v i Fig. 3 is a front ,view of one fltheblQdrs-shoW-I- ing :partioulamly the ornamental glass facing-and, V meted hOICETSE' aSSGCiatGd therewith, the faci-ng beingpartially lirokentalwey. V 7 i withrefereiieegnow" to thedrawing and par tieuleirlyito Fig; 1,: there iSfClHHStTatBG a portiori of thew' xter-tior well: of a; building? provided with of glass: 6. :supportedt-in the windowopening by thepmetail sash construction :11 arranged at the top), bottom, 'andi sides oi saidwingiow. The eX-. terior wall of the "building is constructed of or faced with the Glastone blocks :Biset one upon f thelotherin al seriesoi horizontal rows or oourses.

The bottom. row orcours'e: of blocksvtmay be set at the-lever A of the: sidewalk ZB; but. in many cases 'thelbloeks are setslightly below the sifgie-r walk glme asinldiceited byfthe; broken iinesirrFig.v 1

Eaeh of the :bloekfsjtis "of aconiposite' cori-i struction a portion I or? member 9 preferably formed from a cementitious material such as concrete, Haydite, or the like, and

an ornamental facing 10 preferably of opaque. structural glass. The glass facing l9 covers substantially the entire front surface of the body portion 9, and interposed between said facing and body portion is a relatively thick, substantially uniform... layer of adhesive material ll,

preferably an asphaltic mastic cement, which serves not only to bind the, facing to the body portion but also permits relative expansion and, 1 contraction between the two without danger of" the facing becoming broken or accidentally displaced. The layer of masticll also serves to.

cushion the glass facing against shock'and blcws," I

thereby increasing its resistance to breakage.

Arranged at each edge of the glass facing I9 holders.

When the blocks 8 are mounted in place, the .body portions 9 of vertically adjacent blocks will .aIs be spaced from one another inwardly of the 'l ad-bearingsurfac'eS 1'1, and this space can be drilled wane .layer of mortar 2|. With such a is a metal holder 12, and these holders cooperate to form a frame extending entirely around the perimeter of the block for mechanically securing the facing to the body portion. Each ofthe metal holders l2 comprises a longitudinally extending channel portion l3 which isreceived between the body portion 9 and=facing ID of the block for spacing them from] one another as" shown in Fig.2. The outerwall of the-channeled portion I 3 constitutes-a shoulder which I abuts the rear surface of theglass' facing-l and extending forwardly therefrom and at substantially right angles thereto is a flange disposedopposite the respective edge of the facing'and terminating in an inwardly directed lip l5.

The peripheral edges of theglass facing are thereof and engaging said edges are strips 16 of suitable resilient cushioning material suchas asphaltic impregnated 'cork, although they may be of rubber, rubber composition, etc. These cushioning strips l6 serve 'to protect the edges of the facing and also act to prevent chipping orv spalling of the facing during block in'place in a wall.

As shown in Fig. 2, the cushioning strips IS the setting of the terminate inwardly of the outer surface of thev facing l9 and also that theflanges 14 and lips l5 of the metal holders'cooperate with the outer walls of the channe1ed'portionsl3 to'define substantially U-shaped channels in which said strips,

are received." The cushioning strips l6 mayor may not'be secured to the edges of the facing, as desired, and they arev preferably relatively thicker than the width of the llDSI'IS, so that while the lips extend over or overlap the forward edges of the strips, they do edges'of the facing;

The-inner wall of the channeled portion l3 of each metal holder (l2 constitutes a shoulder which engages the outer surfaceof the body portion 9; said shoulder projecting slightly. beyond the flange I4 and extending at-substantially: right angles with respect thereto is a relatively Wide, flat, load-bearing surface IT .which is disposed opposite the body portion of the block. Formed. integral with and constituting a-continuation'of the load-bearing surface I! is an inwardly directed flange [8 which is embedded in the body portion 9. r a

In building a wall, the-blocks 8 are laid up oneupcnthe other in courses to form a'pluralityof vertical and horizontal rows. Due to: the fact that the load-bearing surfaces ll of the metal not contact with theconstruction, the-structural load of the wall will be supported entirely by the body portions 9 of the blocks with none of the load being placed upon'fthe glass facings III. 'In other words, the load of one block is transferreddirectly to the body portion. of the next lower 'block and each block takes the full strain of the blocks above V the blocks are set in place in'this'manner; strain preferably square. with. the opposite surfaces holders l2 project beyond the edges of the glass,

facing-there will beformed around the edges of the body portion 9 acontinuous load-bearing ledge |9whichalsQ projects slightly beyond thev it. Since it is impossible for thevertically adjacent glass facings to engage oneanother when upon the facings will be reduced to a minimum, thereby eliminating breakage and chipping thereof. i I

-When theiblocks 8 are to be used above the levelof the sidewalk, the glass facing l0 may consist'of a single relativelyilarge sheet or plate of glass covering the entire front surface of the bodyportion 9. However, it has been found that when the blocks are 'set below the level A of the concrete sidewalk B as shown in Fig.2, there is sometimes a tendency for the glass facing to be broken upon expansion of the sidewalk, and this is particularly true if the concrete is poured di rectly against the glass facing. When this occurs, if the glass facing is formed of a single large sheet or plate of glass any crack or cracks which might be caused therein are apt to travel vertically throughout the entire height of the block or at least a major portion' thereof, with the result that such crack orcracks will be quite noticeable to passersby and render. the blocks .themselvesunsightlyas well as detract from the appearance'of theiwall. Thisis-espec'ially true when the blocks of the bottom row are relatively large and project aconsidera'ble distance above the'sidewalk level. I

As brought out above,.the primary object of this invention is to provide a building block havi'ngan ornamental glass facing of novel construction and arrangement so that even though the facing be broken by expansion of the sidewalk any crack or cracks which might develop in the facing will be restricted to and definitely confined withinarelatively small "area of the facing adjacent the bottom of the block. To this end, the glass facing l0 is'forined of two pieces or sections of glass which cooperate .to' cover substantially the entire'front surface of the body portion 9 of the block. Moreparticularly, the facing l3 comprises .arelatively large sheet or plate of opaque structural: glass 22 covering thegentire front surface: of the body portion f the block .withthe exception of a relativelynarrow marglass'23. The'glass strip 23.

is preferably only a few inchesinwidth and, as

shownin Fig. 2, is

' adaptedto'be partially set below the level A of the sidewalk'B; 'MTheglass strip 23 :is also 'prefer 2,325,800 ably spaced from the glasssheet or plate 22 and interposed therebetweenis a strip or the like 24 of suitable cushioning material. The cushioning-material 24 preferably terminates inwardly of the outer surfaces of the .glass plate 22 and glass strip 23 to provide a joint which is filled with a suitable pointing or caulking material 25.

partially above said'sidewalk line, and means see By forming the glass facing In in this way, it I 7 thereof will be exposed above the sidewalk line and, in consequence, any crack or cracks which maybe caused therein will be restricted-to this curing said ornamental facing to said body member.

tion of a'relatively narrow marginal portion along the bottom thereof and a separate strip of glass arranged beneath said glassplate and covering area of the facing. Thus, the-cracks will be quite will be hardly noticeable to passersby.

' By way of example only and as illustrative of the present invention, it might be well to point out that the average size of Glastone bulkhead blocks used is between 5 and 6 square feet and that most ofrthese blocks vary from 18 inches to 24 inches in height.- The'separate glass strip 23 at the bottom of the block is preferably 50 designed as to project about 2 inches above the sidewalk line. erably set about 2 inches below the sidewalk line,

this means that the separate glass strip 23 should be about .4 inches wide.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as the preferred embodiment of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims;

I claim: a

V 1. In an exterior wall construction, a plurality comprising a body member, a glass facing there forincluding a glass plate covering the entire front surface of said body member with the ex ception of a relatively narrow marginal portion along the bottom thereof and a sepaarte strip of glass arranged beneath said glass plate and covering the bottom marginal portion of said body member, said separate glass strip being dis- 7 posed partially beneath the sidewalk line and As the bulkhead block is also prefa distance below the normal eye level so that they the bottom marginal portion of said body member, said glass strip being spaced from said glass T plate and being disposed partially beneath the sidewalk line and partially above'said sidewalk. line, means securing said ornamental facing to said body member, and cushioning materialinerposed between the'said strip and plate.

3. In an exteriorwall construction, a plurality of, blocks arranged to form a horizontal row set V Y partially below the sidewalk line and each block comprising a body member, a glas facing there- 'for including a glass. plate covering the entire front surface of said body member with the exception of a relativelynarro-w marginal portion along the bottom thereof and a'separate strip of glass arranged beneath said glass plate and covering the bottom marginal portion of said-body member, said separate glass strip being disposed partially beneath the sidewalk line and partially above said sidewalk line,"and metal holders at i the edges of the block'cooperating to'forrn a frame surrounding the ornamental facing and each having a portion engaging said body membe! and another portion engaging said facing.

4. In an exterior wall construction, a plurality of blocks arranged to form a horizontal row set partially-below the sidewalk line and each'block comprising a body member, a'glass facing there for including'a glass plate covering the entire front surface of said body member with the ex ception of a. relatively narrow marginal portion along the bottom thereof and 'a separate strip of blocks arranged to form a horizontal row set i partially below the sidewalk line and each block of glass arranged beneath said glass plate and covering the bottom -marginal portion of said body member, said glass strip being spaced from said glass plate and disposed partially beneath the sidewalk line and partially above said side walk line, a strip of cushioning material disposed between the said strip and plate, and metal holders at the edges of the block cooperating to form 2 a frame surrounding the ornamentalfacing and each having a portion engaging said body member and another portion engaging said facing.

' ERLE'T. PUTNnM. V I

2. In anexterior wall construction-a plurality of blocks arranged tore-rm a horizontal row set "I partially below the sidewalkline and .eachblock v comprising a body member, a glass facing there-' 'for including a glass plate covering the entire front surface of said body member with the excep- 

